Trace elements in buried human bones: intra-population variability of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios – diet or diagenesis?
- 1 March 2002
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Nature in The Science of Nature
- Vol. 89 (3) , 115-119
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-001-0294-7
Abstract
A comparative analysis of trace element data of human skeletal material from four archaeological sites is presented. We show that the state of histomorphological preservation of bone, which is a measurement for the degree of its diagenetic alteration, closely corresponds to the Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios at an intra-population level. This study challenges the validity of dietary studies that are based on the presently used procedures for sample preparation and subsequent evaluation of strontium and barium concentrations.Keywords
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